Light Tank M-24 'Chaffee' (British Army)
Bronco Models 1:35 Scale Kit No. CB35068
Review by Terry Ashley
The other main alteration is the inclusion of the retooled turret with revised roof bend line, this is also available as a separate set #CB35069SP for those with the earlier kit wishing to update, the revised turret has also be included with subsequent pressings of the initial kit. Given all of that most of the comments below are the same as for the previous kit with additional comments as required. Bronco are to be commended for rectifying the turret details promptly and making the updated turret available separately at minimal cost.
The kit consists of:
572 parts in light beige plastic
168 individual track links in light beige plastic
14 clear plastic parts
145 etched parts
1 length of string
1 decal sheet
28 page instruction booklet.
Clear and other parts
The quality of the moulding is very good with very little if any flash, no disenabled pins marks that would be visible after assembly but there is some roughage on the edges of the more intricate slide moulded parts such as the idler and drive sprocket that will be easy to smooth out before assembly and plenty of the now familiar plastic nodes on the parts to be carefully removed. There are numerous very small parts that will need careful removal from the sprues and during cleanup of the fine moulding seams as well as the extensive use of slide moulds to achieve excellent detail on parts such as the gun barrels, tail lights, shock absorbers and hull/turret details, there is another of those superb plastic springs first seen in the 105mm howitzer kits that do need care removing from the sprue.
The kit includes a number of notable features with the torsion bar suspension being fully workable after assembly if you are careful with the glue. The torsion bars are separate parts that fit into recesses in the lower hull tub and held in place with the separate covers with all the axle arms and linkages joined with very small pins to allow movement. The axle arms are attached to the ends of the torsion bars with square lugs to get the right alignment and allow for the compression of the torsion bars much the same way as the rear bars work by exerting spring as they twist.
The shock absorbers are in two parts with the hollow upper cylinder into which slips the lower piston and the assembly attached to the axle arms by way of more small pins, there are no actual springs inside the shock absorbers but they are designed to compress and expand as the axle arms flex on the torsion bars.
The idlers are superb examples of what is possible with today’s moulding techniques with both idler discs and rims moulded in a single piece that includes the lightening holes around the rims with just additional outer lip ring and hub to be added. Likewise the drive sprockets have the central hub also moulded as a single part that includes the appropriate lightening holes with the two tooth discs and mounting hub added before fitting the sprockets to nicely detailed final drive housings.
As mentioned there is some minor roughage on the edges of the idler and sprocket mouldings as well as some mould seam lines on the sprocket hub that are easy to clean off for superbly detailed sprockets and idlers.
The road wheels are equally well done with separate outer rim and tyre that includes “Firestone” embossing with separate inner rim faces and hub caps and these are attached to the axle arms with small pins allowing the wheels to rotate. If you didn’t want the suspension to be workable after assembly just gluing everything in place would speed up assembly somewhat, I guess that’s up to the modeller?
The track is the WWII style metal track with workable individual links; these have excellent detail on the links free of any pin marks and have small pins on one end of the link that fit into corresponding holes on the other end of the link to make the working links.
Detail on the lower hull tub is again excellent with the idler mounting posts moulded with the angled side plates at the correct angle without loss of detail definition and the other details such as the axle mountings and underside plate detail very well done with the separate front and rear plates and inner final drive housings added with test fitting being very precise. Included on the etched fret are small casting numbers that can be added inside the final drive bulges on the lower front plate for additional detail. Detail on the rear plate is also well done with the separate tail light assemblies including very small casting numbers on the light casings for more excellent detail.
The hull top plate and glacis are in one piece with separate large transmission cover plate with excellent recessed bolt heads with the rear deck being in 7 parts with excellent grill and surface details with etched screens provided for the grills and the separate armoured fuel system vent covers with fine casting numbers included as well as separate fuel filler caps. The head light guards are provided in plastic or etched parts depending on your preference, there are also bending jigs for the etched guards to get the right contours which are a nice bonus.
There is a full M1919 cal.30 hull MG with movable ball mounting and the two crew hatches have separate periscope mountings and clear periscopes as well as separate grab handles and can be shown open of closed although there is no interior included. Also included is the driver’s windshield for the bad weather hood although the hood itself isn’t included. Provision is also made for the spare road wheel fixed to the glacis hatch as often seen on British Chaffees.
Each of the full length fenders has three parts, the top fender with triangular braces included, the outer frame edges and the side skirts with etched mountings. The pioneer tools are moulded “naked” with separate etched clips and securing straps for good definition.
Moving to the turret this has the upper shell with 2 part lower turret ring and separate front turret gun housing and mantlet, these have nice weld seams and smaller details included including the small bulge under the gun collar for good attention to detail with the full M1919 cal.30 coaxial MG mounting provided.
The turret shell has excellent surface details with weld seams and other details and as mentioned the top plate bend line has been amended to correspond
with reference image of the actual turret roof.
The M5 lightweight 75mm gun is provided in full with nicely done inside gun and breech details along with other interior detail such as the crew seats, traverse mechanism and alternate radios for the rear sill. When assembling the gun there is the plastic spring provided that fits inside the gun housing allowing for the gun to recoil after assembly but unless you intend playing with the gun recoil after assembly you might want to glue the gun together for a more solid assembly, again the choice is yours?
The barrel tube is a single piece with hollowed out muzzle and very basic rifling that also includes the two rings centrally on the tube as a leftover from the guns previous life in a B25, these rings have the correct flat profile as they should.
Other separate items for the turret include the Commander’s cupola with separate clear vision blocks and a two part hatch with additional separate clear periscope plus separate pistol ports with inner support arms and numerous other smaller items for excellent overall detail. The large Loader’s hatch is free of any pin marks on the inside with 4 small handles to add while the rear 3 part storage box has additional etched latch details and the large 3 leg MG mount is nicely moulded in one piece with additional gun cradle and support arm. The turret interior includes the No.19 radio set with etched gurads as well as the corresponding roof aerial made up of the plastic post with etched arms and top ring, the large twin vane gunners site is also included as etched parts for a good appearance.
The M2 cal.50 MG is moulded with the receiver and hollow cooling jacket as one piece with separate top feed cover, cocking handle and rear hand grips while the barrel is another separate item for very good detail on the plastic gun. A few of the cooling jacket holes were not fully opened out but a quick pass with a drill bit will solve that small issue, incidentally included on the sprues is the barrel with flash suppressor so it would seem a post war Chaffee is also in the works.
A very nicely done D80030 cradle, pintle and ammo box assembly is provided in 4 etched brass parts for the cradle and multi part (6) plastic ammo box for an excellent appearance to compliment the M2 cal.50 MG.
Also included with the kit is a single standing British tank crewman posed leanging against the tank but could be used in any setting.
The instruction booklet is well laid with the usual exploded view drawings for the assembly sequences, while some are quite busy they are relatively easy to follow without any real traps, but as always careful study of the assembly before gluing is advisable. The instructions also included a table of paint numbers for Hobby Color, Humbrol, Mr.Hobby and Tamiya paints used with the model.
Option 1: HQ Troop, 5th Royal Tank Regiment, 22nd Armoured Brigade, 7th Armoured Division, Germany 1945 Option 2: C Squadron, Reconnaissance Regiment, 5th Infantry Division, 1946 T330512 is actually from the 13th/18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own). Option 3: Newly Delivered Tank for experimental purposes, England, Winter 1944 Option 4: 3rd Royal Tank Regiment, 22nd Armoured Brigade, 7th Armoured Division, 1944-45 Option 5: 1st Royal Tank Regiment, 22nd Armoured Brigade, 7th Armoured Division, 1945 |
The kit is certainly not for the inexperienced modeller due to the many small parts and complexity of some assembly sequences such as the working suspension but the overall level of detail makes for a standout kit with this British version being most welcome for fans of British armour.
Rating 9/10
M24 Chaffee in detail Special Museum Line No.40 Wings & Wheels Publications |
STUART A History of the American Light Tank R.P.Hunnicutt. |
M24 Chaffee Light Tank 1943-1985 Osprey New Vanguard No 77 Steven J. Zaloga |
M24 Chaffee Walk Around Squadron Signal Publications #5714 David Doyle. |
M24 Chaffee in Action Squadron Signal Publications #2035 Jim Mesko. |
Allied-Axis The Photo Journal of the Second World War No.15 Ampersand Publishing. |
Ground Power Magazine #104 - 1/2003 GALILEO Publishing Co.,Ltd. Japan |
Toadman's Light Tank M24 Photo Detail CD #19 |